Tracks Exposed

Kakashi had no objections and nodded crisply. "Understood."

Rin gripped the strap of her medical pack tightly, took a deep breath, and said seriously, "Understood."

Minato gave the group one last look.

He did not say anything else sentimental.

He pulled a specially made Tri-Pronged Kunai from his Ninja Tools pouch and drove it into the tree trunk beneath his feet with a sharp smack.

"If something extreme happens that you cannot handle, destroy this kunai. I'll arrive as quickly as possible."

With that said, Minato's gaze fell on the four of them one final time.

"Bring them back alive."

Those words were meant for Ye.

The instant his words fell, Minato formed a one-handed seal.

Minato vanished into thin air.

Only the Tri-Pronged Kunai remained embedded in the tree trunk, its iron ring at the end still swaying faintly.

The dense forest fell silent for two seconds.

Obito swallowed and looked around. "He really left?"

Ye fastened his tactical bracer around his left wrist.

"He left."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping across the three of them.

At that moment, Ye put away his usual frivolous expression.

Though his tone had not changed much, still carrying that hard-to-tell-whether-he-was-serious cadence.

His presence was clearly different.

"Alright, from now on, listen to me. Kakashi, explain our current position."

Without another word, Kakashi crouched down, pulled a tactical map scroll from his pack, and spread it across a tree branch.

He took out a charcoal pencil and pointed to a spot marked with an X on the scroll.

"Our current coordinates are here. The straight-line distance to Kannabi Bridge is two hundred li."

His finger traced northward along the river valley.

"The Iwagakure supply unit's scheduled crossing time is noon three days from now."

"Considering that we need to infiltrate the area